In today’s society, we each carry our own backpack full of concerns or situations that we have not known how to manage. Provoking an accumulation of sensations, both physical and mental, that have been escaping our own control. In this backpack, we have been putting each concern on top of the other, forgetting that it has limited endurance and there comes a time when the weight causes it to break. Who has not at some point felt a lot of tension accumulated in a part of their body? Or who has not felt that at some point they have not been able to concentrate due to having a lot of mental overload?
These situations cause us to be unable to continue with our daily activities, generating a lot of stress.
We have found ourselves not knowing what to do with this stress and we have often wondered how we can manage the discomfort it causes us and achieve a relaxed state. We achieve this state when we are calmin repose, without physical and emotional tension and without getting carried away by those more negative emotions.
In order to achieve this state, there are some scientifically proven techniques, such as relaxation techniqueswhich allow us to get out of these situations to a certain extent.
They are very useful techniques, since their main objective is to generate in us a balance either welfare in moments of unrest, allowing ourselves to “get rid” of those negative emotions that we may be feeling, of the excess of thoughts and somatizations that these cause.
There are different types of techniques related to relaxation, in this case I am going to explain two of the main ones. I remind you, in this sense, that it is important to be in a quiet and comfortable place to carry them out.
Progressive muscle relaxation technique
First of all, I present to you Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation technique. This helps us recognize which muscles in our body are tense so we can loosen and relax them.
This method is divided into three different phases:
1st Phase: tension-relaxation. In this first phase we have to tense and relax different muscle groups, going from the face, neck and shoulders to the legs, for about 10-15 seconds. For example, wrinkling the forehead and then relaxing it, or first bending the neck back and then slowly returning it to the starting position.
2nd Phase: review. Mentally check all the muscles to make sure they are relaxed.
3rd Phase: mental relaxation. We have to think and imagine something pleasant, that we like and enjoy, such as music, a memory, etc.
Autogenic relaxation technique
Secondly, I show you the keys to Schultz’s autogenic relaxation in which we use both display like the body awareness to reach a state of relaxation. It consists of repeating instructions in the mind to generate sensations in different parts of our body.
In the first place, before starting each phase we must always repeat the same words: “I am calming down and relaxing”; and at the end we will use the following phrase: “I am calm and relaxed.”
In one first phasewe will try to induce a sensation of weight and to do so we will go through our arms and legs, repeating “they are pleasantly heavy.” It is important to do it 6 times for each part.
We continue with the second phase (sensation of heat) focusing on the hands and feet; in the third phase in the decrease in our heart rate saying “My heart beats calmly and regularly”; in the fourth phasein breathing repeating “My breathing is slow and rhythmic”; in the fifth phasein the stomach and abdomen; and in the sixth in the freshness we feel on our forehead.
Ending with a tour of all the parts of our body, repeating to ourselves: «I am calm and relaxed».
Attention! For this type of techniques to be effective, it is important to practice because it may be that they don’t come out the first time. We have to go step by step and focus on the process.
We will be able to gradually release those worries or somatizations that haunt us from our backpack, without the weight of it giving up.
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